Typically and by way of example, the latches for deck lids and gas doors of automotive vehicles are actuated through a Bowden cable by means of a solenoid which is mounted on the vehicle frame or body adjacent to the latch mechanism. Manifestly, solenoid and Bowden cable sub-assemblies adapted for these uses are mass produced, and it is important to be able to assemble the cable easily and expeditiously with the solenoid.
Heretofore, the usual practice has been to enclose the spool on which the solenoid electromagnetic coil is wound in a metal housing that is formed with mounting brackets which are provided with preformed holes that permit the assembly to be riveted or otherwise fastened to the vehicle. In these types of solenoids, the solenoid plunger normally extends from one end of the coil, and a suitable connector attached to the sheathing of the Bowden cable actuator is adapted to be attached to a mounting bracket on the housing that positions the free end of the cable wire properly for attachment to the extending end of the plunger so that retraction of the plunger into the spool by energization of the coil slidably actuates the wire to operate a latch attached to its other end. In order to permit quick and easy attachment of the connector to its mounting bracket, the bracket conventionally is formed with an open-ended slot that receives and interfits with the connector, and the latter is then riveted or otherwise fixedly secured to the bracket. The problem with this arrangement is that the mounting brackets sometimes become bent or otherwise damaged during manufacture or shipment of the solenoid so that, when the Bowden cable is attached to the bracket, the latch actuating wire of the cable does not align properly with the solenoid plunger. When this happens, the misalignment causes the interconnected parts to bind or it may even be necessary to straighten the bracket in order to connect the cable wire to the plunger. The latter contingency is a time consuming and therefore expensive manual operation. Moreover, this mode of attaching the Bowden cable to the solenoid leaves the projecting end of the solenoid plunger exposed so that rod dust, grit and other contaminants have access to it and to the space between the plunger and the bore of the spool in which it moves which causes the plunger to stick or otherwise become non-functional in use.